THE TREASURES OF THE SULTAN'S PALACE.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1579, 4 March 1887, Page 4

THE TREASURES OF THE SULTAN'S PALACE.

If you are in Constantinople, and the Sultan intimates that it wonld give him pleasure to open the doors of the tnarary for your inspection, jon should not lose the opportunity. It is a privilege not easily obtained. Through the "August Gate," within the walls of the old Seraglio, you can penetrate; over the walls and around the tree of Janiasaries you can wander; but at the " Gate of Health " a Turkish guard demands your firman—that without which all en* treaties are useless. If, after waiting, this firman is brought in person by an aide-de-camp of the Sultan, whit was civility becomes deference. The guard, who a moment ago waived you aside that a black eunuch might pass and be saluted, now presents arms to you, and another eunuch, a tall white Mow, comes forth to receive his Hiffhness's command.

To the treasury ii bat a step, and whence all thoae attendants 10 suddenly spring is surprising. You are not, a* you imagined, alone with the aide* de-camp and the white eunuch, for here are twenty or more guardians of the treasury ranged on either side of the massive doors. The ceremony of entering is in itself imposing. The locks are elaborate and the mechanism intricate The chief of the guards unlocks one bolt, which he hands to the man on his right A padlock he gives to an assistant on the left, and then along the dignified line he slowly distributee one piece after another of the ponderous combination. The door is thrown open and the treasury is before you. At the door stands the famous throne which in 1514 was captured from the Shah of Persia. And it is here you utter the first exc'amations of wonder and admiration —ezpressionsof feelingswhich increase in intensity as your eyes rest upon the dszzling display, until words and thoughts fail to convey even to yourself any estimate of the wealth about you. This throne is perhaps three feet high and about the same across, and is one mass of diamonds, emeralds, rubies and turquoises. Over it is suspended a golden egg of more than a foot in diameter, andthis egg sparkles and glitters with the precious stones with which it is studded. In the cases on every hand are nre treasures. Diamonds are every* where quarts of diamonds; there are turquoises around and between these diamonds—pecks of turquoises; and this is no exaggeration. There are emeralds of such wondrous size as to be beyond any estimate. In two eases there are two emeralds, one the size of a man's clenched hand, and the other as flat and as large as a hand extended. There are sword-hilts of solid emeraldsL The famous jewel of Bangkok moat be overshadowed in

To realise the pearls, image in a table cover of beautiful pattern* and exquisite embroidery, and then fancy that there has been a hail of pearls for ten minutes, and that they have all dang to this cover. That wDuld be one piece of tapestry, and there are scores of them banging in this room ; and the pearls are as large as peas. That was bead work in the reign of some Ottoman ruler. There are gems in bulk; rare old china vases filled to the brim with huge emeralds; Japanese tureens overflowing with magnificent pearls; decorated plates heaned up with coral beads like ripe cherries; golden salvers blazing with the light of hundreds of immense diamonds; and scattered about with a lavish band lie the plate and beautiful turquoises like blooming flowers, an unpretending bed for all this wondrous beauty. There is the cradle in which ten sultans have rocked, and whose every motion sent forth rays as brilliant as the glory of their career ; their little school-bags hang there, and still shimmer in their crust of gems. Diamonds, diamonds—everywhere is the glitter of diamonds. Surely they must have been guardians of the treasury, who first dreamed of the " Arabian Night*." Presents from foreign magnates rival each other in value and splendour. Here is another jewelled throne, and over it hangs a ruby and an emerald of fabulous size. An Indian Bajah's gift, a marvel of beauty, is in height four inches only, but in design most exquisite. A rajah is seated on a throne, and over the throne a canopy; in front is a slave. The body of the rajah is a single pearl; the waist and trunk of the slave another pearl of curious shape; the legs and arms are solid masses of diamonds; the canopy is of diamonds. The effect is beyond description. You feel such surroundings —you cease to talk—what, indeed, can you say ? Turn as you will, the diamonds flash at you, the rubiee fire at you, the pearls soothe you, and the whole intoxicates you. You see the aide-de-camp smiling, but proud of his Sultan's treasures, the accumulated treasure of over thiity rulers of the great Ottoman Empire. With an odd mixture of half-formed thoughts you pass into another room. A golden column confronts you, a model of the Trajan monument; over six feet high and eight inches in diameter, it is imposing, but does not surprise you. You are prepared to see walls and floors of solid gold—you almost expect it Over your head hang golden birdcages with clocks at their base. As is proper and becoming, the hours are indicated by diamond figures. Here are cases of chinaware —old and curious chinaware—but, as if to assert their value, they are covered with gems set in fantastic filigree. There are guns and scimitars one blaze of light, more cloths of gold rescued from a shower of pearls, more golden eggs, more measures of gems, more whirling in your brain. You mount to a gallery, and look at the original costumes of a score of dead rulers. The robes are magnificently embroidered, the turbans are immense, diamonds are tangled in the plumes, and the sword-hilts are single gems. The older the date the richer the dress, but all with turbans and robes, until the thirtieth sovereign adopts the fez and the red trousers in use to-day. There is yet another room of equal splendour. Your bewilderment increases as you move on, and when at last you are bowed out by those grave watchmen you wonder if they are not all Sultans, and if you have not been | dreaming.